1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to weather seals, and more particularly to weather seals used to protect areas between adjacent building surfaces from moisture and foreign materials at roof lines or where a roof surface meets a wall surface, such that independent movement of each building surface is allowed while an impervious seal is maintained.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
When building large structures, especially of concrete or similar material, it is often necessary to build the structure in sections leaving gaps, called joints, between the sections to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the building material. Likewise, when structures are built in close proximity to one another, it is often necessary to make allowance, by means of a joint, for relative motion between the adjacent structure sections caused by seismic activity. climatic conditions (e.g., wind) and thermal expansion and contraction of the structures. Joints allow the adjacent structure sections to move freely relative to one another, and thus allow distribution of motion, expansion, or contraction between several structure sections.
When a joint is provided between adjacent structure sections, steps must be taken to isolate the inner region of the joint, between the structure sections, from the external environment. It is especially important to seal the inner region against entry of water, dirt, and other foreign material which may affect heating, ventilation, electrical interconnection, interior fixtures, and the ability of each adjacent structure section to move relatively independently. To facilitate this isolation, one or more of a wide variety seals may be used. A requirement of any seal used in such applications is that it be capable of expanding and contracting with the width of the joint in order to accommodate motion of the structure sections while maintaining its imperviousness.
One location such seals are commonly used is at the joint where the roof line of one structure meets the roof line of a second structure. A variation of this is the use of such seals at the joint where the roof line of one structure meets a wall of a second structure. Sealing of joints at these locations is typically accomplished by extending across the joint a flexible or elastomeric material which is secured to each of the structures.
Providing seals of improved imperviousness to moisture, dust, etc., is the subject of a number of patents, for example those issued to Lane, U.S. Pat. No. 1,357,713, issued Nov. 2, 1920, and to Reeve, U.S. Pat. No 3,724,155, issued Apr. 3, 1973. The seals of the prior art share several common problems, including inadequate mating of seal and building surface, inability of the seal to be used at either roof-to-roof or roof-to-wall joints, inability to provide adequate insulation of the joint, inadequate seal support (especially where one seal section joins a second seal section), inability to manufacture the seal in continuous lengths and inability to easily store and transport large continuous sections of the seal prior to and during its installation. The seal of the present invention overcomes these problems, and others, as described in detail below.